VCA Inc. (NasdaqGS: WOOF), a leading animal healthcare company in the United States and Canada, reported on May 15 that the headquarters of its Sound-Eklin diagnostic imaging division was severely damaged in the fires that swept through Carlsbad, California, on May 14. Sound-Eklin’s Carlsbad headquarters is the main facility supporting VCA’s Sound-Eklin division, which sells digital radiography and ultrasound imaging equipment and related services to the veterinary community. The commercial office building and warehouse has approximately 70 employees, none of whom were injured in the fire.
While the fire has caused severe damage to a substantial portion of the facility, VCA is working diligently to satisfy customer requirements and prevent supply disruptions. VCA has in place standard insurance coverage for both property damage and business interruption losses, but it is unable at this time to assess the financial impact of the fires to its business.
Bob Antin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of VCA, stated, “We are relieved and extremely grateful that none of our employees, nor their family members, were hurt by these fires. We will dedicate our resources to ensure that our employees and clients are supported as we work quickly to bring our operations back to 100%.”
Antin continued, “We are gratified by the outpouring of support we have received from employees throughout the VCA family, from our clients and from others in the veterinary industry.”
Tom Jacobi, President, Sound-Eklin, stated, “This is a setback to our operations, but we will continue to provide the excellent service for which Sound-Eklin is known. While we may experience some short-term difficulties, our client support and sales efforts will strive to provide superior services, backed by the full resources of VCA and our affiliated companies.”
Jacobi further stated, “I feel fortunate to be surrounded by the professional team at Sound-Eklin, each of whom is working hard through this crisis to ensure that our employees and clients remain our number one priority while, at the same time, they also address the disruption to their personal lives that these fires have caused to them and others in the Carlsbad community.”
Customers can contact Sound-Eklin’s customer support department at 800-819-5538 for warranty and customer service or to check on pending orders while Sound-Eklin relocates its operations. For less urgent needs, please send an e-mail to TechSupport@soundeklin.com. Those with pending orders or products in service, we will be contacting you in the coming days. If you have immediate needs, please complete this short form and we will respond as quickly as possible.
VCA owns, operates and manages the largest networks of freestanding veterinary hospitals and veterinary-exclusive clinical laboratories in the country, supplies diagnostic imaging equipment and other medical technology products and related services to the veterinary industry, and provides various communication, professional education and marketing solutions to the veterinary community. For further information on VCA, visit our website at www.vcaantech.com.
Based in Carlsbad, California, Sound-Eklin produces the most widely accepted and used digital radiography, ultrasound and PACS systems in the veterinary industry with more than 10,000 installations. Sound-Eklin holds leadership positions in Ultrasound, Digital Radiography, and Education. Sound-Eklin’s Academy of Veterinary Imaging has conducted over 9,000 student trainings.
